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FRENCH NAVY 1939-42 By Hugues Canuel As naval books written in English tend to focus on the Royal Navy, the role and strength of its French equivalent is often overlooked.  This new book from Osprey and written by naval historian, Captain Hugues Canuel, throws a greater spotlight on the Marine nationale especially during the second world war.  With the ending of the Great War and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, the majority of countries had neither the interest, nor the finances, to continue to build and modernise their armed forces. As the second world war began the book describes the strengths and types of ships that were then serving in the Marine nationale.  This would include the French having the world's largest fleet of submarines.  Following the Phoney War, the fleet's lesser known role in the Norway campaign is revealed. Between the evacuation at Dunkirk and Operation Torch, the story of the many dramatic battles, alongside the country's...

TURNING THE TIDE  By Thomas McKelvey Cleaver. Tom Cleaver takes readers back to  1942, where the inexperienced American pilots of the  USAAF would face their first moments of combat against far more experienced German and Italian adversaries.  As readers will learn, even before these battles commenced, the US pilots had to firstly fly over hundreds of miles of sea and desert, just to reach their bases on the African continent. This in itself proved to be no mean feat.  Amongst the narrative of events that start in North Africa and then later in Sicily, we meet and follow a variety of American pilots.  Just as the US soldiers did on the ground, their lack of inexperience would prove to be a costly exercise early on, with a huge number of both pilots and aircraft being lost. However, through gaining combat experience and adapting their tactics, our author reveals how these important early months would create a far better equipped air force that la...

THE WAR OF THE ROSES: VOL I By David Grummitt. In this first of three volumes, David Grummitt reveals the military campaigns of the War of the Roses, backed with incredible knowledge from forty years of research.  At the beginning, David states that many previous books have followed the mistakes written in many earlier books. So here he takes a fresh approach to not only the many battles, but the locations where they supposedly took place. After a brief introduction to what started the civil war, he begins in 1455 with the first of two battles that took place at St Albans. This civil war would actually spread from England's shores and ahead across to both Ireland and France, before both Northampton and Yorkshire would also see blood split. For a relative beginner like me who has only read a few books on this period, I have found David's narrative much easier to follow and appreciated both the maps and many photographs.  The illustrated artwork is also an excellent ...

EXPLODING RATS & OTHER DEVIOUS DEVICES OF SOE By Craig Moore. Not for the first time has a historian stumbled on a most interesting file whilst actually researching for another subject in the National Archives at Kew.  This happened to Craig Moore who, with just some light editing, has now brought us the said file in full. Written in 1946, this fascinating report includes many useful diagrams and photographs which reveal  the work of the Camouflage Section at SOE.  Much like 'Q' Branch in the James Bond films, their  work included the disguising and concealing  of microfilm, as well as explosive devices, inside everyday items. Often now for comic effect, the agents were also taught how to use make-up, toupees, glasses and false teeth to totally change their appearance. There is so much here that I have never seen before. One such example is some footwear with adapted soles that were shaped as a footprint. These was used in the Far East, to confus...

HARRIER By Philip Birtles  Aviation historian and writer,  Philip Birtles, turns his attention to a very popular and extraordinary aircraft.  Beginning by explaining the concept and design of VTOL (Vertical Take-Off & Landing) aircraft, Philip keeps the focus of the book on the Harrier through its initial design and testing, to the development of  the later models like the Sea Harrier and those used by both the United States and other European countries.  It is a well known fact that the RAF retired the Harrier far too early, whilst it continued in service for other countries until only recently. Included in the book are over 400 photographs, many previously unpublished and covers the aircrafts service including the Falklands War. A highly readable account that surely must deserve a space on any aviation fans bookshelf.  The hardback book is available now, published by Fonthill Media, an imprint of Pen and Sword Books.  I thank Script B...

KILLING SHORE By K.A. Nelson The author is a veteran of the US Marine Corps and a wreck diver who has been in the unique position of seeing for himself the victims of and also the wrecks of some of the German U-boats he now writes about. On reading a few books on the Battle of the Atlantic, the story of the U-boat attacks close to the American coast probably hasn't had the coverage it deserves.  I say this because the book begins with a map of the US Eastern Coast revealing all of the wrecks of both U-boats and their victims, a surprising number to me. The book is split into two parts. Firstly the author provides an overview of the battle in the Atlantic dating back to the first world war. The second part of the book is divided into chapters that cover a particular ship or event, with the basis very much on capturing the stories of the men involved. Whilst the author wrote this as a local history book, his research and attention to detail deserves a greater readership. ...

RAF FAST JETS IN COLOUR By Philip Birtles A writer of many aviation books, as well as working in the industry, Philip has managed to grow quite a large collection of photographs.  Now his publisher has given him the opportunity to share literally hundreds of his own photographs along with many others that he admires. Aircraft showcased include the Harrier, Lightning, Tornado and Jaguar, each given their own dedicated chapters. With just a brief introduction for each aircraft, it is very much the photographs of the aircraft that do the talking. This is a book, if not a photo album, for any aviation fan to simply enjoy and reminisce. This one most certainly did.  The paperback edition is available now published by Fonthill Media, an imprint of Pen and Sword Books.  I thank Script Books, also a fellow imprint, for this review copy.